Bronze Age vs. Medieval Setting

Reality or Fantasy
Gary Gygax authored a fantasy supplement for his Medieval Wargames Rules, Chainmail. Dave Arneson used Chainmail and other rules he invented to play in his Blackmoor quasi medieval setting. Mr. Gygax continued the medieval trend with his world of Greyhawk. There have been many more systems and play aids published using a setting loosely resembling the middle ages. Knights in chainmail or plate armor, kings, queens and other feudal social structures remind us that our middle ages provides a reference for our game setting.
There have been exceptions, however. When one examines closely the world settings of our RPGs, we can quickly see inconsistencies with history. Most FRPG settings which use plate armor and feudal titles allow social mobility way beyond historic realities and most offer a polytheistic pantheon of gods and goddesses more closely resembling the classical age than the middle age where the church in Rome was a uniting force across kingdoms.
So what does a Bronze Age game look like? How would it differ from standard White Box? In many ways White Box and other editions have more in common with a Bronze Age than with the plate steel period. The Bronze Age was one of warrior or priestly kings, strong men who gathered other strong warriors about them. The king acted as patron and his warriors would compete for favors. Social rank was flexible and the son of a shepherd could rise to be king. It would be a superstitious society in which spirits of nature and ancestors were encountered daily and "magic" was practiced by most as a way to interact favorably with said spirits. It is an elemental age where even the earth is a force with "personality". The mountain, the river and the forest are sentient entities themselves. It is an heroic age where heroes can become legendary, where gods and goddesses interact with humans, sometimes taking human form. Monsters are real and lurk just outside civilization, which is pretty much centralized in the few cities and towns. Trade and seafaring are advanced and travel to exotic lands is quite possible. Other than bronze weapons and antique armor, a bronze age game could look very much like the way we often play White Box. This is probably due to the authors being heavily influenced by heroic literature and the fact that despite castles and the plate armored cleric class, White Box doesn't really model a middle ages milieu very well.
The middle ages were all about religious conformity to a single god, staying in your place socially and paying your debt to your lord. Game designers quickly saw the discrepancies between the dress of White Box characters and the mechanics which gave them so much social freedom and many took it upon themselves to try and correct that. FRPGs like Chivalry & Sorcery and Harnmaster attempt a more realistic portrayal of the middle ages through a fantasy lens.
Being a person always interested in history, the distinction between epochs probably mattered more to me than most. I recall attempting to "force" a more medieval mindset onto my players with disastrous effects. Fortunately my need for realism passed before I lost all my gaming friends. Today I take the games as they are and try to do my part to make them fun for all. I do find it amusing to think about the various aspects of play resembling a bronze age setting or a medieval setting or post apocalypse, etc. The roots of a good fantasy game can come from any place. The historic ages of man being but one of many possible influences.